Baby will only eat crisps

[reallybloodytired]

Really not what I thought would happen when weaning. Six weeks in and he won’t eat anything (he is seven months.)

I have tried purées and non purées, pouches, just putting food in front of him, giving him the spoon (he throws it on the floor!) - he just won’t eat.

But he will eat melty puffs.

Can anyone give me some pointers - I’m really worried.

Just go back to him having milk again, if you have been trying for 6 weeks and he is only 6 months you have tried to start weaning very early. I would go back to milk, wait to reintroduce anything else until he is grabbing your spoon on the way to your mouth and trying to stuff it in his mouth and then try again. My two were both EBF until 1 there is no rush, certainly no need to worry. Just go back to milk exclusively and wait for active clues from him. You are creating a lot of pressure and worrying for no reason, very early. There is quite a lot of science suggesting that childhood obesity might be linked to weaning too early, so don’t focus on what other mums are doing, just work with your baby. When he is trying to eat all your food then start again.

@reallybloodytired

And thanks everyone - I know I should stop getting stressed, it’s just that every other baby I know of a similar age is eating well now and here the whole concept of meal times is just non existent.

The other mothers are likely exaggerating. Don't underestimate how ridiculously competitive people get about this stuff. I can say that because I was the same about my PFB. DC4 is 6 months and the only thing she's eaten with any enthusiasm is a pizza crust she stole off my plate while watching the football. You likely have a good few months ahead of baby turning their nose up at everything so please don't worry, just persevere with a little bit of food every mealtime and eventually it will click.

Just let him play with it. Most of his calories should still be coming from milk so put the meal in front of him and let him play with it, don't worry if he doesn't eat any of it, at some point he will get curious.

Thank you. He’s going to nursery in six weeks so I guess they will eat at a table then. It worries me but I can’t do anything about it.

Our set up is a bit odd as we have a big front garden which I hate using as it’s straight out on the street and then a tiny paved area at the back which I’m not really comfortable with as all concrete.

If it was up to me I’d just have laminate floor everywhere and let him make a mess but it isn’t.

I will try to stop worrying. It’s just really hard because I so wanted weaning to go well and it isn’t even that it isn’t going well, it isn’t going at all!

He'll eat when he's ready.

My dd1 was grabbing food at not quite 6 months whilst dd2 didn't eat anything other than the odd strawberry until she was nearly 12 months (I'm not exaggerating).

Don't watch the calander, watch the baby. He'll let you know when he's ready.

Both my DDs have grown up to have healthy appetites and aren't at all fussy.

You sound so anxious. Please just enjoy him. It really isn't a problem. He just isn't interested yet. My first was eating anything and everything at 6 months. My second swallowed nothing solid until 14 months. She had no interest in food til 9 months then just tasted and spat things out.
She was extreme, it was messy, I was stressed and it was no fun at all. I do totally understand what you are feeling and it is so hard when your child hasn't read the 'How to be a baby' book that all the others have! Try to relax and have the 'It will happen when it happens' mentality. I had visions of me poking my boob through the school fence at playtimes as I couldn't imagine her ever eating!

@SoMuchForSummerLove

At the end of the day, he's a baby. Take the crisps away, don't offer them again, and keep offering bits and pieces of what you're having. He'll get the idea.

This. Stop giving him crisps.

Honestly?!

OP I think this is the 4th thread I’ve read that you’ve started about this. I know it’s easier said than done but STOP worrying till at least 9 months, and even then, it’s just about some gentle guidance if he’s still not interested.

My 10 month old barely touched a thing till 9 months. Now she ‘eats’ but without much going in still. I gave up on purées very early and just gave her bits of food. I panicked as she is very small - but I’ve come to realise she wasn’t eating much as she doesn’t need much. She now finds food interesting and that is good enough for now.

Put him in a high chair next to you. Make a healthy meal for yourself (no crisps!) and just pop some bits in his tray and eat. Don't bat an eyelid if he chucks it or leaves it. Keep on with milk. Food is for fun until you're one. His milk will give him nutrition.

Don't worry about mess at all. Slag Bol, shepherds pie are all great foods for him to squish and smear. Roast dinner too with low salt gravy. Just get him used to it. Honestly he'll be fine. Let him feed himself.

Even if he's not eating stuff he's learning how to pick it up and how it smells/feels
He might take a bit longer but it's fine! He won't be 21 and still on milk only

I just had mine at the table when the rest of us were eating. Eventually they ate bits. Yes they made a mess put a tarpaulin down if you are that bothered

It’s just really hard because I so wanted weaning to go well and it isn’t even that it isn’t going well, it isn’t going at all!

It's going absolutely fine. Weaning is an all around sensory process and involves motor processes as much as eating. A baby touching food but not eating it is learning - about texture, about picking things up, about smell and feel. Even if nothing goes in their mouth, it's still successful and it's still weaning

Your baby is weaning and making progress. Be patient and trust the baby.

DS2 would put everything in his mouth except food at first, if I gave him a cauliflower floret, he'd suck the thumb of the hand he was holding it in. We tried purees for a few months, then we tried finger foods again and he was fine.

@Sleepless2022

OP I think this is the 4th thread I’ve read that you’ve started about this. I know it’s easier said than done but STOP worrying till at least 9 months, and even then, it’s just about some gentle guidance if he’s still not interested.

My 10 month old barely touched a thing till 9 months. Now she ‘eats’ but without much going in still. I gave up on purées very early and just gave her bits of food. I panicked as she is very small - but I’ve come to realise she wasn’t eating much as she doesn’t need much. She now finds food interesting and that is good enough for now.

Oh OP, if this is true then yes, you need to stop.

There is nothing wrong. There is nothing to fix. There is nothing to worry about. Just stop. Your baby will sense that just before meal times, you start getting stressed and anxious and then he will start getting stressed and anxious. There is nothing to stress over.

Sit him at the table, give him some bits to eat, suck on, squish up and let him watch you eat. It will come, but you must calm down.

Get a cover for under the highchair, a cheap shower curtain works then eat at the same time. Just give him abit of what you have and try not to stress about how much he actually eats at this stage, just let him play with it.

I had a family member like this with her baby and he ended up with an eating disorder. He's absolutely tiny and eats a very limited range of foods, he's 20.

Pleae please relax about this.

Your baby will sense that just before meal times, you start getting stressed and anxious and then he will start getting stressed and anxious. There is nothing to stress over.

This is so true. But please stop giving him the crisps. No baby food will give him that same salt/fat hit so he will always choose the crisps over actual food.

He just cries in the high chair.

sleepless it’s horrible when people make you feel bad for posting. There is barely any support at all because or covid. Everyone I know with a similar aged baby is not having these issues. So of course I’m using MN. I feel like I can’t, now

Oh great bryony I feel so relaxed now!

@reallybloodytired

He just cries in the high chair.

sleepless it’s horrible when people make you feel bad for posting. There is barely any support at all because or covid. Everyone I know with a similar aged baby is not having these issues. So of course I’m using MN. I feel like I can’t, now

No one is trying to make you feel bad for posting, posters are being honest that your actions and worries about his food intake are likely to be making the situation worse. You've had a lot of supportive replies, giving tips, advice and explaining that not eating food isn't a problem at 7 months. I understand you're worried, but please listen to other posters, they've been where you are now and are only trying to help.

Please do ignore people chiding you for posting or suggesting ridiculous outcomes that can't possibly be predicted. Do keep posting, name change if you feel you need to, ignore people who aren't being helpful or who are riling you. It's hard to do, I know, and you can't unread things that have upset you but try to put that to one side and think that those comments reflect on the poster and not on you.

Honestly, people will not tell you the truth about their baby's progress and you will only ever see a snapshot of what's going on with them either via social media or if you meet up occasionally. It really doesn't matter what other babies are doing. Your baby is well within weaning norms and isn't behind or anything like that.

If he doesn't like the highchair, do you have a different kind of seat you could try like a bumbo with a tray? Is the high chair comfy for him? What is he like in the high chair if you put toys on his tray rather than food? I used to put my DS in the high chair with toys when I was doing things like cooking or washing up, so that he could be near me. Does he dislike that too?

@reallybloodytired

No one is telling you to stop posting. Dont be so dramatic.

We're telling you to stop worrying. You can ask for as much help as you need, but on this issue, the answer will be the same. There is nothing wrong. You dont need to worry about this.

You do need to ignore any friends saying their babies are eating great... there is a massive chance they are exaggerating it.

Stop worrying about this. He will get there, as long as you keep offering food and keep eating infront of him. Let him see you enjoy food.

As I said, one of mine refused the high chair. He just screamed in it. But he loved the booster seat strapped to the dining chair because he was just sat at the table, using the table like everyone else. He liked that.

I am listening to that but what is worrying is posters will say ‘oh don’t worry, my ds was the same, give him (food) which my baby liked’ which perhaps makes me think I’m not explaining very well.

And I’m not standing over him with a spoon shoving it into him, I put him in his high chair, he cries, I take him out. I’ve tried feeding him on my lap, the floor, but he just mushes his lips together and won’t have anything.

Anyway, I’m sorry for posting. I just feel like I’m failing him all the time as no matter what I do it feels wrong.

Oh I’m really not being dramatic but you know what I don’t think this is good for me … it’s so shit when people make you feel like an idiot or ‘dramatic’ for just asking for advice. I’ll find somewhere else to ask.

My DD was like that when we started weaning - she just wasn’t that interested in food! We also didn’t have an accessible dining table at the time, so that stressed me out as well. She started nursery at 8 months and started to be more interested in food after being there a few weeks - I think the combination of being a bit older and seeing other babies/ toddlers eating made her want to try food.

I remember weaning being the big topic at baby groups/ my NCT group when the babies were 6 months old. Looking back there was probably some exaggeration from other mums about what the babies were eating - I admit I made it sound like DD was eating a bit more than she was, especially in groups with ultra-competitive mums. Try and take the pressure off yourself, maybe take a break for a couple of weeks but keep eating in front of your DS and see if he expresses any interest / tries to grab your food.